Waste and Food

As I was trying to do a little preparation for my contribution to the Lenten Series on Everyday Justice - my focus being on waste - I began to perform a Google Search on the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch discussed in the book, wanting to see if I could find a satellite image of this so called dump in the Pacific Ocean, that measures somewhere between double the size of Texas to double the size of the continental United States. It turns out that there is no big image, but not because it isn't there. Most of it isn't visible because it stays on or slightly below the surface. Much of it is plastic fragments, plastic being a substance that does not degrade but does break down into smaller pieces as the light hardens it, leave what is called rather a soup in the middle of the ocean. Plastic repels water and absorbs chemicals like oil that often contain toxins. Unfortunately, the pieces become small enough where birds and other animals mistake it as food and after they ingest it, they are at risk of dying from obstructions within their systems or from absorbing the toxins that the plastic can absorb. It is estimated that this dump is the accumulation of 80% trash dumped on mainlands into the sea with the remaining 20% being dumped from sea vessels. Why is this a big deal?

Not only does this eventually come back to us as we are at the top of the food chain, but it reminds us that poor utilization of our resources eventually comes back to us. It's not like we don't have enough to worry about now, but if we are going to eat safely, even if we are growing our own food, we have to consider what is in the soil that we are planting our food. It ranges from bacteria and viruses to parasites to toxins. How we deal with our trash ultimately will affect those who come after us and potentially could even affect us now. When a christian is called to Love God and Love our Neighbor, we have a significant responsibility to care for the creation we have been given to manage (dominion) and care for the creation that our neighbor also has to use and live in. I think about all the different ways I fail in my daily obsession to appropriately manage waste and can only pray for grace and assistance.